My fiancee and I want this sentence fragment inscribed on our wedding bands: "and the two shall become one flesh." From Mark 10:8. When I look up the latin vulgate version this fragment would read as "et erunt duo in carne una..." Is there anything goofy about that? I know in english we can quote sentence fragments and it sounds fine but I was wondering if there was anything strange about how it would read in latin. it will have the standard "..." to show that its just a fragment.Any thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help.

Me, too. It's nice, apt and accurately expressed, I think. Nothing funny, except for the ellipsis! That's no big deal, but you did mention it specifically, though. The ellipsis is misleading (in English language conventions, mind you) because it suggests that the phrase is at the start of a sentence. (You have the ellipsis at the end; it should be at the start.) It is best without it, altogether. In talking about the extract within a sentence that you have already introduced you say "...et erunt duo in carne una." If it is in inverted commas at the beginning of your own sentence containing the extract, you write this "[E]t erunt duo in carne una." You don't write this "...et erunt uno in carne una." at the start of your own sentence because, in that case, you need a capital letter to begin your bigger sentence. You write this when the phrase is in the middle of a sentence "...et erunt duo in carne una...". My advice is, drop the ellipsis. The "et" subtly and simply makes it clear that the phrase is extracted. Nor would the period at the end be necessary, so "et erunt duo in carne una". If you still like the ellipsis, then put it in because its use will make sense wherever you place it, no matter what a fussy editor might say, and it pleases you. You can also write "unâ" with a circumflex but most people would not. Personally, I do because I like that convention.

This just occurred to me, James924. An ellipsis at the end of a phrase in non-academic writing nowadays can act like a pointer to the future, or to suggest expectancy. Unfortunately, interpreted here in that sense, placed as it is at the end of the clause and in the context of the words alone despite the context of the wedding band and all else that might be said, it allows a joke to be made about carnality. People can say "dot dot dot" with raised eyebrows at the end. You avoid that possibility by putting the ellipsis at the start, rather than at the end. At the beginning, not only does the ellipsis have a correct academic sense but it's nicer because it points to fulfillment rather than uncertainty: "...et erunt duo in carne una."

Your ring is not so much a quotation as a monument. It is common in monumental inscriptions (at least in moder usage) to use pieces of quotes. You neither need the elipses nor the 'et.' Why not simply use: "ERUNT DUO IN CARNE UNA"? I like the feel of the capitals because of its nature as a monument.